Weaving and women are indeed inseparable for the Mollo community in NTT. The woven cloth has become a symbol of maturity for women ready to get married. It is from the hands of the weavers that beautiful, high quality fabrics using natural materials are created.
Behind the Mollo's weaving also emerged a social movement from a woman named Aleta Baun, the leader of the Mollo Indigenous Tribe who united the community against the arrogance of mining companies and the army that destroyed the Nausus and Anjaf regions. Now in the location of the former mining area, the Lopo traditional house was built as a learning house and workshop to improve the community’s ability to farm and weave through the Mama Aleta Baun Community.
BIFE comes from Molo language which means woman. Woman is interpreted as mother earth who is guardian of the nature and food. The philosophy of Moloans always considers nature as human body. In the philosophy of Moloans, water is blood, trees are hair, land is flesh and stones are bones.
The BIFE Weaving House supports the preservation of Mollo Weaving into innovative work that is environmentally friendly while increasing the income of the community by promoting it at national and international levels. BIFE in the Timor language refer to women representing Mother Earth, guardian of nature and food. Not surprisingly, woven Mollo materials come from nature, such as cotton and other plant dyes.
